I see your true colours... best commercials ever

After the post about the annoying commercials, I feel the need to at least describe some other good things on TV. In the midst of the terrible, and occasionally gross (see comments section of my previous post), there has been the random funny or sweet commercial.

So here they are! I tried to list as many as I could think of:

Pepsi - the Jimmy Fallon ad - I think the main reason I like this commercial so much is because anything with Jimmy Fallon is going to be pretty good. His dance is funny and the music is silly enough to be entertaining. I hope they don't overplay it though - it might be easy to get sick of this one.

NHL returns "Shout it out loud" - this one played a lot for the first half of the NHL's return this fall. I probably would have loved it regardless (since I've been known to sing along with the theme from Hockey Night in Canada like an excited 5 year old), but after being deprived of hockey for a year, I got excited every time I saw it. Love the end shot of the zamboni and the crowd. yay for hockey!

NHL - I guess I should just put a disclaimer here that I pretty like every NHL commercial. Being the hockey nut that I am - I can't help but find their ads entertaining. I love the one of the game where the players end up leaving the ice, continuting play onto the streets and through a city.
NOTE: This disclaimer also covers any IIHF stuff - Team Canada commercials, Olympics, etc

Moosehead - I will always have a special place in my heart for Northern Ontario and the amazing beauty of the nature up there. For those of you who haven't seen it - a cabin party in the woods is interrupted by a moose silently swimming past a dock. The music is turned off and everybody watches. The silence and sound of the moose swimming remind me so much of my hometown. Makes me proud and homesick at the same time. (definitely miss the peace of a nighttime at Ella Lake)

Molson Canadian - They have had a few really good commercials (loved the "My name's Joe and I am Canadian" one), for example the one in the office, where the Canadian employee jersey's the guy making fun of Canadian stereotypes.

HP - picture frames - having worked for this company for awhile, I am more inclined to like their commercials. In spite of this, the ads with the people passing picture frames around and framing themselves is very cool.

Bell - We're all connected - this has a similar theme to the HP ones I talked about above. I'm not sure how to explain this one - starts with a little girl holding a picture of somebody. The camera zooms closer and closer, finally taking you inside that picture of another person holding a picture, repeating over and over, ending again on the girl from the beginning. This would have been a good ad for HP in my opinion, since it's photographs - but the "all connected" theme definitely works here too.

The only good tampon commercial ever:
Tampax - this was an old commercial that I saw a long time ago, but i've always remembered it because it's just that good. Picture two little boys playing in a living room while a mother sits in the kitchen. The boys have a discussion about not having anything to do, and suddenly one of them jumps up, runs out of the room, and returns holding a box of tampons. He announced "This is what we need!" At the other boy's puzzled expression, he explains "I saw a commercial about this - when you have these, you can go horseback riding, skiing, swimming..." Cut to the mother in tears from laughing so hard.

True Colours - Dove - I love love love these commercials!!! Especially the one that plays an accappella version of "true colours", while showing a group of young girls who all have a problem with how they look. As somebody who went to an all girls school, I have always felt strongly about women feeling confident and strong and beautiful in their own way. I've included the link to Dove's website because it's got a lot of really interesting information about their campaign. Maybe someday more than 2% of women will think - no wait scratch that - KNOW they are beautiful.
http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/


Once again - these are my opinions, and I'll try to add a few more as I think of / see them.

Author's note: this was a lot more challenging than thinking of the worst commercials - which leads to me ask: if it's easier to remember the terrible, gross commercials - are advertising companies doing this on purpose? are they really that smart? or is this some kind of fluky coincidence??

worst commercials EVER!

Dentyne Ice Frostbytes - the one where the couple is riding in a cab and the guy's head freezes then falls off into her lap. Honestly - GROSS - why the hell anybody thinks this would sell gum is beyond me.

Every BellSouth Commercial - the BellSouth guy is SO annoying! The only time I've enjoyed these commercials is when they had the screw up: The BellSouth guy had this little action figures called "Action Pat", that talked when you pulled a string. Instead of saying "Get BellSouth fast access DSL", it said "Get BellSouth Fat assed access DSL". No joke. If neceessary I will get jeremy to post a comment to back me up here. It ran for a month, then they apparently fixed it. Now all of the commercials are annoying again.
ps. They now have a commercial featuring the theme song from Andy Griffith - a more irritating earworm has never existed.

The BMO (Bank of Montreal) commercial - Any bank that has to abbreviate it's name in order to sound cool is just sad. Even worse is that they actually say "BMO Bank of Montreal". Um, if you're gonna abbreviate it - just say one or the other. ugh

The WaMu (Washington Mutual) commercial - see above. Seriously these banks are right on the coolness level of some guy who nicknames himself "T-Bone".

Raisin Bran - Johnson, the supposedly incompetent guy who works in an office and eats cereal all day long. His boss tries to fire him, and the whole while he can't hear him over the very loud crunching sounds. I don't care how clever people think this is - the sound of somebody chewing loudly is not appealing and does not make me think "wow - this must be very crunchy cereal!"

Any commercial about tampons, and other feminine products / issues - don't think I really need to explain why.

Subway commercials - I just don't like Jared. He's annoying. Good for him for losing all of that weight - Lord knows I'm trying - but still.

The most recent Old Navy commercial - Yes, the clothes are great. In fact, I shop at their store because I can usually find lots of things that actually fit properly. However, when every single girl in this commercial is 5'9 and looks like she weighs 100 pounds - it drives me crazy. I have enough self esteem to not let it affect my self-image (in spite of earlier comment about losing weight - i do not consider myself fat), but I worry about the teenagers who see this and think they need to look exactly the same way. very irresponsible advertising about an unrealistic body stereotype.

Wendy's salads are "spectacular" - okay - these are so incredibly annoying that I actually find myself running to get to the remote. I actually go through the inconvenience of changing the channel rather than listen or watch this one. A woman throwing salads around and saying "Spectacular!" a bunch of times. Not terribly clever.

"New Grandparents" A&W - This commercial is the kind that I always like and sometimes even get teary-eyed over. It starts off great, with a couple telling their parents they are going to have a baby. They do this by buying a grandpa burger (at this point, I'm still on with them), and the family realizes that a new baby is coming, they all hug. Then - and this ruins it for me - the father says "Where are my onion rings?" WHAT?! okay ya - do the cute funny comment at the end, not a problem, but they wreck this commercial by having such an unfunny, supid joke.


An Up-and-coming worst commercial ever (give it a month)
Volkwagon (Vdub) commercial - at first I kinda liked these commercials. They were at least mildly interesting and the cars that get trashed are neat looking (can you tell i'm not into cars?!), and the German guy's accent is interesting, but these are going to get old really fast, depending on the number of times I've seen them.

if you haven't seen them yet: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=70722051211331357&q=VW


Author's Note: I may have mentioned a commercial that some of you might think is terribly clever or just plain great. If so, I apologize for offending, and offer the excuse that it's just my opinion.

-------------------------------
Okay, I was working on the next post - and HAD to add this one! just couldn't be helped

BURGER KING - any commerical - the guy wearing the Burger King head is the stuff that nightmares are made of - totally creepy. I hate the one where the guy is on his bike with his girlfriend, and after they go through a tunnel, she's replaced with the BK dude, who hands him a burger. Instead of being concerned that creepy man is on his bike, the guy looks all happy and eats his burger.
Bad? hell ya it's bad - and every variation on that is just stupid.
The newest one was just on tv - don't know how many have seen it. Instead of creepy BK mask man - it's a guy riding a giant chicken. The sappy music plays "Biiiig Buckin' chicken". Um what the hell is this?! It's so freakin weird - i almost laughed the first time. Seeing it now just emphasizes how incredibly stupid this commercial is. I will never eat BK again (not really gonna have much impact, since i already don't eat their food, but i feel the need to officially set the record on this).

two nights in a row in front of the tv

So for the first time in about 3 months, I've spent two nights doing not much of anything in front of the television. No assignments, no studying, no lesson plans, just waiting to meet my new Associate Teacher tomorrow at my new school.
Apparently this world is very small because when we talked on the phone today, I found out that not only is she old friends with my faculty advisor (who I get along with extremely well and is a reference for me), but she's from CONISTON (for those of you who don't know - that's in the Sudbury area), and went to Marymount for high school. As soon as she found out that that's my old high school, there was an immediate bond - Marymount girls - don't know how to explain this to people who didn't go there.
Anyway, after having this conversation with my associate, I'm not nearly as worried about meeting her. I read through the grade 4 curriculum, then put my books away. Got to watch Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, One Tree Hill, and Trailer Park Boys. Whew! Haven't had a night like this in a loooong time!

All of this TV watching got me thinking about how annoying commercials are, so I'm going to try and do a post of the Top 10 Worst Commercials (in my opinion).

does this mean I'm a grown up?

So tonight the remaining members of my section (most of them have now left for home to do their last placements in their home school boards) decided to have another fun night out. The plan was to go to a nearby pub for a few drinks then over to this great place called Papa Cheney's - home of the 2$ rye drinks.



After getting 3 emails and 2 phone calls, I decided it would be a good plan to go out, especially since it would be the last time we all get to spend time together before starting placement #4.

After a lot of discussion with Jeremy about whether or not he was coming and if so, would we drive and how late would we be staying out, I called one of the girls going out and asked what time she and her boyfriend would be there. A bit of miscommunication had happened - apparently only 3 people were going to the pub first, and only for about a half hour before heading out to Papa's.

Looking sadly at my hair straightner (which had been heating up for the last few minutes in hopes of fixing the hair up a little for going out), I realized it would need to be turned off and put back in the cupboard.

Why you ask?

One of the benefits of being "old" now is that I know myself well enough to know that if I was to go out to both bars - I would find myself stumbling drunkenly into the door at 1am.

Ordinarily this would not be a problem at all. Except I'm volunteering with my grade 1/2 class tomorrow at 9am and need to be awake and not hung over in the morning.

And so I sit in my quiet living room, watching Sex and the City as I drink a Cosmopolitan. Wow - I just realized how funny that sounds. See, Jeremy decided that I needed cheering up after making such a grown up decision - and produced two bottles of premade Cosmopolitans from the back of the fridge (purchased last week). They were meant for the weekend, but hell - the liquor store is open on weekends - we can always get more ;)



So my question is this: was this the boring choice? Am I old now? Too old to be spontaneous and party with my friends when I know I need the sleep to be ready for tomorrow? Am I at the point where friends who do still go out roll their eyes at my decision to cuddle in front of a good TV show?

Is is terribly cheesy that I'm watching "Sex & the City" with this particular drink?

Should I care???

I've learned a lot of things about myself and the world this past year - hopefully the decisions I'm making based on all of those lessons are good ones. Even if they're only about a night in with a premixed drink.

8 months in windsor

8 months ago Jeremy and I packed up the last of our stuff and said goodbye to London, hoping we would return someday.




Dylan loved driving the moving truck



Melissa and I left London 30 minutes after Jeremy and Dylan and still managed to catch up to them on the 401 just outside of Chatham.


This is the cake that Kim baked for me to wish me luck




This is what Kim looked like - 5 months pregnant!

Here are the before - after pics of our place. The move in was not fun - trying to fit stuff that was in a two-bedroom apartment in to a one bedroom apartment - including a cranky, terrified kitty and a two-hour drive. Move day took 17 hours. We'd probably still be moving if Melissa and Dylan hadn't come along to help.



The one thing I don't like about the apartment is the wall colour. I'd much rather have painted it, but we decided it wasn't worth it. Can't wait to get a house someday (when we finally find out where we'll be living) so we can decorate and paint it and not have to worry.




The Riverfront




One of our favourite places is the riverfront (Detroit river). Lots of interesting things to look at, including the Detroit skyline and the Ambassador bridge. Definitely the greenest and nicest part of Windsor.






The view from our balcony at night. Right away my favourite thing about the apartment was being able to see the bridge and other parts of the city.




Love the BBQ - was a present for my birthday 3 years ago. Now that the weather is getting really nice again I'm looking forward to spending tons of quality time with it :)
and some beer too...



Hope you've enjoyed my little tour of Windsor - I'll have a post later on with pics of other places to go in the city.

Here kitty kitty!

a nice afternoon nap :)




Trying to help me write a paper.




I haven't talked too much about the adorable furry little member of the family - our cat Chase. He's going to be two years old this summer and still have the personality and energy of a 4 month old kitten.





He loves to sleep on freshly washed laundry.









You may have noticed most pictures are of him sleeping - when he's awake, he rarely sits still long enough for us to catch him with a camera. We love him to pieces though - even if he keeps eating my plants.

I believe the children are our future... teach them well and let them lead the way

Sorry to borrow lyrics from a cheesy 80's song, but I completely agree with the above statement.

I am jumping on the proverbial bandwagon to support the Children's Health foundation. This was started in my friend Steve's blog (which I haven't figured out how to link to - don't remember how that works) which has a post explaining about the foundation in a bit more detail http://postcardsfromlondon.blogspot.com/.

Try to imagine a cutie pie like one of these three.











Now try to imagine one of them needing your help.

If you can, donate money to help the most vulnerable people in our communities. This organization is responsible for funding medical research and building children's hospitals. I can't think of a better charity to help out.

So folks - don't know who all reads this - if you can, go a week without Tim Horton's and give what you can to this charity. You're literally investing in our nation's future.

comments, comments, comments

I have recently become addicted to reading comments made in my blog and others as well... probably because of the following conversation.

Kim posted a blog discussing her experiences with breastfeeding, ending with an apology to the readers about the content of her post. She felt bad talking about it - so I made the below comment to make her feel better:

breastfeeding, breastfeeding, breastfeeding - there I said it too - so you don't need to worry about talking about it! I have developed a whole new appreciation for my mother as I watch you journey through motherhood. Also - i still don't want one of my own - unless we can somehow time being pregnant at the same time! on a different note - can't help but remember the episode of Friends when they tried the breast milk - wonder how it would taste on cereal??? ;P
10:33 AM
Kim said...
Mel - I can always offer you some the next time you're over if you want. ;)
4:06 PM
Melinda said...
um... well if i do, i might need to have some Oreos like Ross did - lol - hmm i really don't know if i'm brave enough though! heehee
4:17 PM
Laura Coubrough said...
Mel, I think it's turning more into the "would you drink the fat for me?" episode of friends... just run.;)
5:04 PM
Melinda said...
LOLthanks for the tip... maybe there is something good about being all the way in Windsor!
5:09 PM
Kim said...
Ummmm, hell-o...you're insulting my breastmilk here people!
5:50 PM
Melinda said...
Oh sweetie - i would never dream of insulting your breastmilk - i know it's value! But... I reserve the right to be freaked out by the thought of drinking anything that comes out of my friend's boobs.okay that sounds grosser than intended - hmm maybe i need to stop writing now :)
5:59 PM
Kim said...
Touche!
7:38 PM

Disclaimer: this information was taken from another blog: http://adventuresinablackmaplebox.blogspot.com/
(that i still can't figure out how to link to). Apparently the number of comments since I wrote this a few days ago has moved up to 13... wow - 13 comments - i'm still trying to hit 5! lol

... drumroll please...

well for the first time this year, our teaching placements were posted more than 2 days in advance... shocking indeed. We have two observation days thursday and friday of next week - days when we literally observe the classroom routines and learn as much about the class as possible b4 having to teach.

I have a grade 4 class in a catholic school in windsor - near the super expensive area called St. Clair beach. A little intimidating, since I am familiar with the area after driving through it to gawk at the huge houses with Jeremy when we first moved here. We took a drive along the riverfront to explore and realized that apparently windsor does have multimilliion dollar homes - they're all hiding in one little area. Not sure how well i'll fit in that type of environment - hopefully my associate is a nice person.

For those of you who aren't a part of teacher's college or have not had anybody close to you go through the process - this is the most nerve wracking part. Walking into a complete stranger's classroom to teach students who will try their best to take advantage of the fact that you are a student teacher and not a "real" teacher. Luckily I've had some great associates who have gone out of their way to not only welcome me to the class, but also make sure I was respected as a teacher. Sure made things easier...
So we have to worry about our new associates - will they be nice? will they be helpful and offer feedback when we need it? will they let us use their classroom materials or do we need to spend our own money for lesson? will we agree with their management techniques?
I've experienced the full range of responses to these questions - but have had a great time throughout. We simply get the best experience when we are on placement. Actually writing lesson plans, managing students, and teaching classes is the best education we can get. Just like people who do co-ops for college.

In teacher's college, the associate teachers give us assessments that literally determine whether or not we will graduate from the program. Have a bad placement or relationship with an associate teacher? that can lead to biiiig trouble. We have faculty advisors who also come out to watch us teach and grade us too. They're also meant to help us in the event that we have trouble with an associate teacher or with the school itself. Some student teachers have actually been ordered out of the school and asked to never return. This is where advisors step in to try and fix things or get them into a different place.

so as the usual questions jump into my mind about the new place i'll be teaching - this time up to 100% - i think it's time to stop writing or I could probably go forever.

Some more school pics

Natasha and Brandon


Jess and Ryan


the "Trevor Sandwich" with Natasha & Nicole


Me & Caroline


Mike, Paul & Manny


Career Day lunch in Little Italy :) Trevor splurged on a $60 bottle of wine - not sure how he has the money to treat us all the time...


Happy Birthday Kristy :)


Kristy & Heba waiting for class.















Joanna, Caroline & Paul at the Honest Lawyer

They wuz screwed

The university of windsor is an okay school - decent campus, nice location, lots of great places to eat, drink, and do things within walking distance. Just like any university, it has its beaurocratic issues - which ordinarily I would ignore and chalk up to the "p" word.
Policy.
Something that was meant to make life easier for people.
Something that rarely makes life easier for people.
Something that most people want to change, but can't.

So who are the people who decide this:
Tell teacher candidates that they can move back home or to another city in Ontario for the last practice teaching placement. After getting at least A or B in two of the first three placements, we are able to apply for the alternate teaching placement.
Next, a secretary reviews the application and gives it to the field placement office.
Next, the teaching advisor is contacted for further information.
Next, it goes back to the field placement office.
Next, the field placement office once again reviews grades and all information.
Next, the field placement office calls the school board requested to find out whether or not they will accept a student from our program.
After one piece of paper has made it through6 people, our faculty then leaves ONE message for each board. Yep folks - ONE. After taking 2 weeks of evaluation and time, they put forth an outstanding effort to help out the people paying tuition to be there (hence paying their jobs) they take a deep breath and make their phone call.

Now I have elected to stay in Windsor for my final placement. This does not effect me personally, however the majority of people in my section are waiting to find out where they will be placed. For some - in what city. The crazy thing about this is that they HAVE the information already! On Wednesday, my friend Heba (who asked to be placed in either Ottawa or Kingston) and I (was along for moral support) went up to the placement office to try and find out which of the two cities she would be in so she could make her travel arrangements.
After a few moments of explanation, she provided her last name and was forced to stand there while two Chinese ladies tried to spell her Islamic name, finally finding out she was in a place called Newburgh.
"Are you sure you applied to Kingston or Ottawa?"
"um YES"
"um uh uh why don't you look on the internet and find out for sure"
"fine - how do you spell Newburgh?"

Well - Newburgh is 40 minutes away from Kingston. Up the 401. Heba does not own a car, and have been concerned about how she is going to get there. We were joking about people reporting a muslim girl running up and down the 401. "

*** to the reader: sorry this is so long, but this stuff is pretty crazy and I wanted to write it all down. I won't feel bad if you stop reading. ***

Story #2 about this

My friend Shauna is SOOOO pissed. Actually i'm pissed on her behalf - as well as everybody else in our section. She applied to the Huron Perth board which according to our placement office - said they could not take her for her placement. So Shauna, in total frustration since if you can't get a placement in the board, how the hell will you get a job - she decides to call the board herself.
This is where the crazy part comes in.
The Huron Perth board told her "we have not been contacted by anybody at the University of Windsor".
WHAAAAAAA?
How is this possible? Don't they have to call the boards in order for us to get placements there? Aren't they the FIELD PLACEMENT OFFICE? Isn't that their job???

Sorry - lol - can't help the rant.

The end of this story hasn't happened yet. The board office found Shauna a placement and quickly sent it to the field placement office so things could get approved. The field placement office had a shocking surprise for unsuspecting Shauna:
"We do not accept offers from school boards to place our students. It is our responsibility to do so. " Shauna would not be working the placement so kindly offered by the board she wants to work for someday.
She wrote a letter to the Dean and called her faculty advisor, but was ignored by the Dean and her advisor had been instructed by the Dean that "field placements are not their concern or business and they should stay out of it".

I find this whole thing utterly fascinating. How can a university get away with LYING outright to students and refusing to bend rules for something that wasn't breaking rules? I don't get it. Our whole section was ready to pound on the Dean's door and demand answers, but it probably wouldn't do a thing.

After hearing these stories, I'm surprised by how normal this all sounds. I mean, it makes sense that red tape will make things longer and more unnecessary and time consuming. The thing I don't get is how people who say to your face that they'll provide an opportunity for you then turn around and do everything they can to stop it from happening.


If anybody has made it this far - I would love to hear some opinions about how to help our friend, or at least try to get this policy fixed / changed.

good night - hope I didn't bore anybody too much with all of the school talk.

University of Windsor Faculty of Eduation - Section 4!

Here are the now infamous creators of the popular cheer: "Section 4... ROCKS!"

I would not ordinarily post this picture because I really really don't like how I look in it - ponytail and hung over - but it's the first decent picture we've taken all year and I think Kim will feel better to see that the teachers of the future do at least look like normal people. :)

Pictures - who says teachers don't know how to have fun

Okay - well it was suggested that I post some pics of last night and that got me thinking that I should probably try to upload some of the great ones I've taken this year. The last day of school (classes) for us was a good one, and I'm sure that many of the people I've met this year will be great friends for a long time to come. Hope so anyway :)

So here are some from last night... a good time was definitely had by all.



You may notice the progression from somewhat blurry pictures....
















To more blurry pictures....























to well - I can lie and say that I did that on purpose to show people how people see when they are intoxicated - but i don't think anybody would believe me...

What are you talking about?! I'm not hungover!

So last night was fun - a good time was had by all, and I woke up this morning for my class at 10am to conflicting reports about whether or not we actually HAVE class - apparently it may have been canceled. Good enough for me - I can definitely sleep for another hour :)

I'd love to know what possesses a group of intelligent, hardworking, academic grown ups (can I call myself that now that I'm going to be a teacher?) to go into a bar, consume a LOT of 2$ drinks, then make up a cheer - yes, a cheer - to emphasize to everybody in the bar just how cool they are.

"Section 4..."

"ROCKS"

hmm - not the most advanced set of lyrics i've ever heard, but at the time everybody thought they were terribly clever. So we finished drinking the 2$ drinks and walked 7 blocks to another bar, where we tried out the cheer again. The bar was not very full and the music not very loud, so i'm sure the few people who were in there were very impressed by our energy and spirit... ya.

When the announced we were heading to bar #3, a few realizations popped into my brain
1. I was most definitely drunk enough and tired enough to call it a night
2. I was very very hungry (mmmm pizza? or maybe chinese food)
3. If we went into yet another bar - this one that for sure would be busy - I would have to participate in the section 4 cheer again.
4. that cheer is great fun - hey! we can just say it on the way home
5. If i'm drunk enough to believe that THAT would be cooler than shouting it out in a noisy bar - it's definitely time to go home...

so we did - had some chinesse food (super good, and lots of leftovers) and finally crawled into bed around 2am. I now need to shower and get to class - in 40 minutes

freedom...

Well my last day of classes is tomorrow - finally! It's hard to believe that school year is almost completely done. What an emotional roller coaster it's been! Today I watched a bunch of classmates fall apart and lose their tempers or cry because of their last placement and other school related things. It stuck me that all of the rambling I've been doing about school and other stuff in my life is totally normal and I really don't have it that bad. It's sometimes hard to remember that when you're sleep deprived, miss your family and friends, and have way too much work to do! (hmm that sounds like it might be a complaint)

In truth, I've loved this year and what I've learned. I've developed from somebody who thought they knew what it meant to be a teacher into a real teacher. Something like that overshadows any of the stress or BS that might come my way in the future - kinda nice remembering the big picture.

Going out tonight with school friends and Jeremy too - I informed him he was joining us - to have a late dinner and partake in some 2$ drinks. After staying in all year and saving money, tonight the plan is to have fun and drink till we're done. Then hand in two big assignments that are due tomorrow - that I finally finished yesterday.

until later (possibly when i'm a little tipsy),
Melinda

notes from the morning after the bad blog

Usually when I have a couple of drinks I don't turn into a whiny, depressed person. I'm going to blame my complete mental exhuastion for that happening yesterday. That and a couple of glasses of wine. It's strange reading it over again though - i've felt that way for a long time and never wanted to write it because I was worried other people would either think me juvenile or depressed. Since I generally like to consider myself of sound mental and emotional health - I was tempted to take the blog off and leave it in "drafts" where some of the other things I've written but couldn't bring myself to publish are hiding...
but i've decided to leave it there - it's how I feel sometimes and i can't make apologies for feelings that I don't want to be having in the first place.
Tonight our section is going out for the last drinking / dinner night. Jeremy and I are both going, and I know we'll have a great time - i've decided to avoid the computer when i come home - lest I be tempted to write about some other topic best kept in my brain...

the day before the birthday

Well, in a half hour it will be my 27th birthday.
not sure if that means i'm supposed to feel old now - only 3 years away from being 30.

It's funny how different my life is than how I imagined it would be when I was younger. I thought by 27 that I'd be married with a career - maybe even children. Instead I'm a student again, in crazy debt, living with my boyfriend, with a career path - but no job. Interesting... it' amazing the path life you can find yourself on.

Life so far has had its ups and downs, but the older I get the more I've learned to appreciate both. I've had my heart broken by boys and lost opportunities, I've been crazy in love and had the person love me right back, I have made amazing friends and lost some too - sometimes my fault, sometimes theirs, sometimes nobody's fault at all. I've experienced both success and failure, and have had to learn to let go of some dreams that weren't meant to be more than just dreams. I'd like to think that I've learned the lessons I was supposed to learn along the way - at least the important ones.

I'm thinking about making a list of things to do before I turn 30 - kinda like the 101 lists that some people I know are doing. I'd like to:
1. find a permanent teaching job
2. travel to somewhere tropical
3. buy each of my nephews an extravagent (and unnecessary) present
4. get married
5. become a Big Sister, or participate in a major charity event
6. read some classic books
7. finally drop the 20 pounds I've been meaning to lose
8. spend more time with my family - cousins, aunts, grandparents

i'm sure the list will get longer

good night world... thanks for the ride so far.

notes from procrastination part 2

mmmmmmmm beer

Notes from procrastination

AAAaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
I'm seriously losing my mind!!!
At what point is it okay for a person to say that there is way too damn much to do and go and drink beer and watch Hockey Night in Canada??
It's bad enough to have a major test on my birthday, but there's another paper due that night, and after rereading the expections over and over again, I finally emailed the professor because I don't get it.
He spent the entire year preaching about racism and sexism and how white society doesn't truly give people of other races and cultures a chance. it's ridiculous really. Anyway, he wants us to choose a theoretical framework or perspective and evaluate it, explain it's history and why it would be useful for a teacher. WHAAAAA? We didn't talk about any theoretical perspectives ALL YEAR. yet, he wants this academic referenced paper (4 pages, worth 40% of our grade) that sounds like something people could develop a thesis on. ugh

So I dropped the essay for now and am now working on another pointless assignment that I should have been working on all year, but just didn't.

While the world parties this saturday night, I sit in front of my computer again, trying to convince myself that this work just needs to get finished.

maybe if i get halfway done, i can reward myself with a beer...

where did the week go?

wow - i feel like this week has literally FLOWN by. My interview on Tuesday went extremely well, and I have to admit that I think part of the reason is because of the British lady. She's the one who interviewed me, and was so nice and had that great accent - that I just couldn't be uncomfortable. In the end, she told me that she didn't think they would have any problem finding me work, especially since I was willing to live anywhere in the UK.
Am i?
I really don't know for sure.
It's a hell of an adventure, and I have always wanted to see Europe.
But do I want to be that far away from home? From my family and Jeremy's family, and then there is Kim and Ledawit. That's a whole different thing altogether. See, the privilege of being called "Auntie" means enough to me that the thought of not being able to be part of Gordie and Addis' lives as they grow up is heartbreaking. If I leave, I'll have to face the fact that they'd be over a year before I came back. And the kids I love already wouldn't remember me...
okay ya, I'm sentimental and I know it.

So time will tell where home will be. Hope it's somewhere near London - i have a feeling i'll needed there for awhile, which is fine by me.

Postcards from the past

An interesting thing happened to me yesterday. I was reading a friend's blog story about one of my two nephews (Kim & Steve's little man, Gordie), and went to make a comment. After clicking on the link, I noticed that my ex boyfriend's new girlfriend had made a post.
It was really strange reading her comments - so familiar and friendly - and knowing that she and my ex hang out with Kim & Steve. Especially with Kim, considering she's one of my closest friends. It doesn't bother me - it's just wierd.
My relationship with Dan was so bad that I don't know if it will ever become a distant memory. We definitely brought out the worst in each other. I didn't like the person I was when I was with him - I was timid, whiny, afraid to step on his toes, and had no confidence in myself when I was with him. He was one of those people who had such a strong personality that it was easy to forget my own. I doubt he ever knew how badly he hurt me while we were together... I hope that this girl he's with now (who seems very nice) is faring better. I hope she is strong and doesn't just back down when they fight like I did, and let him convince her to agree with his point of view all the time.
It's sad that I can't remember a happy time with him anymore - the negative just took over in the end I guess.
It's funny how tempted I am to vent about this even 3 years later. Funny that I'm still angry with him for making me doubt myself. Funny that I still can't imagine the thought of being in the same room with him. Funny that when he found out I was in teacher's college, he said "good for me for leaving Stream". I swear when I heard that I was ready to drive to Sudbury, knock on his door and tell him just how much I've accomplished and how far I've come since I moved away from him. To explain - i left a job that was paying $38,000 a year, and a month after I quit my job, I could have been in Sweden developing global curriculum for Sony Ericsson cell phones. Both HP and Sony Ericsson tried to hire me, I have several people from both companies offering to provide references, and if I tried to get a job with them later - I would be welcomed with open arms. Why did I leave? No pension plan (at the time), no job security (unless I did sign on with HP or Sony Ericsson), and I really didnt' feel like I was in a job that would make a difference in the world. On to teaching, and being accepted into a program that over 6,000 other people applied to - only 700 of us were accepted.
I know that there's no point even spending time thinking about this - but part of me wants to remember so I never let myself become that way again. And to be honest - it kinda feels nice to be proud of myself. Another benefit to having my own blog. I let him convince me that I wouldnt' be a good teacher, that I wasn't good enough to sing in front of people, that I was fat, that I complained too much, and the list goes on.
Since I remember again that I am a strong person, and a good teacher, and if i have a few extra pounds it sure as hell hasn't stopped men from finding me attractive, it's not problem getting over the hurt. I just wish there was some way to get over the anger...

My first interview

Well, my first interview has been set up, and it's not for a place that I ever imagined.
Here's the story.
I recieved a mass email on Tuesday night about a company that places teachers in the United Kingdom for 1 or 2 year placements. They were doing interviews on campus next week and we were being encouraged to contact them as soon as possible if interested.
10:15pm: Thinking I had nothing to lose, I sent in an email detailing my interest in working overseas, and attached my resume and cover letter.
Wednesday morning, 7:00am: phone rings long distance, and wondering who would be calling at that time of day, I answer on the first ring. The caller is a lady from Britian, wanting to discuss with "cv" with me (apparently this is their word for resume). 20 minutes later, I had an interview scheduled for next tuesday on campus. very interesting...

Since my first choice is always going to be working in Ontario - particularly somewhere in southern ontario - london, brantford, niagara, waterloo - places nearby friends and family - I am not that nervous for this interview. It will be great experience for sure...

Notes from a girl who keeps forgetting to post

Wow, I can't believe how quickly time goes by sometimes... Not only have I not made a blog entry in ages, but I keep forgetting to cancel a doctor's appointment, call the university about transcripts, and send out a card and letter to the priest giving me a reference.
I'm not even sure if it's procrastination at this point - there are so damn many things to do that I honestly can't keep up with what I'm procrastination and what I'm just forgetting to do.

Placement #3 is almost over. So Tuesday it's back to classes and handing in zillions of assignments & writing a couple of finals. Then it's back to the classroom for another dose of teaching before I get to finally graduate. whew

Don't have much of a point to this post - just that wow I can't believe the year is almost over.